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Galbavy: STV No Longer Serves Public, It's Smer's Own Channel
Sunday 10 January 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, January 10 (TASR) - Slovak Television's (STV) politics show 'O 5 Minut 12' ('5 Minutes to 12') has become a promotional channel for the coalition Smer-SD party and the political authorities supported by it, as was again demonstrated on Sunday, SDKU-DS MP Tomas Galbavy claimed in a written statement provided for TASR on the same day.
Galbavy criticised the fact that only representatives of the Coalition - Prime Minister Robert Fico, Parliamentary Chairman Pavol Paska (Smer-SD) - and Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic, who openly enjoys Smer's support, took part in the show.
According to Galbavy, this programme had nothing in common with a real discussion in which various opinions and proposals are presented. It was purpose-driven pre-election propaganda full of praise for Smer's successes, accompanied by smears and rough attacks on the Opposition. "And this was happening regardless of the fact that representatives of the Opposition had no right to react to the half-truths and lies that were presented in the so-called 'discussion'," said Galbavy.
The SDKU MP thinks that the programme was aimed at covering up the effects of the badly-handled economic crisis in Slovakia, the botched introduction of the electronic road-toll system and the international scandal that emerged after explosives were hidden in the personal luggage of an unwitting Slovak passenger who was allowed to fly with it to Ireland due to a police error.
STV rejected Galbavy's accusations. "We again stress that this was a discussion with three major constitutional authorities. We consider any accusations of preference for a certain political party to be absurd. STV provides the same space to all parliamentary political parties, which has been proven, for example, by the individual dialogues with their leaders that were broadcast by the channel at the end of last year and beginning of this one after each STV news bulletin," said STV spokesman Peter Stusko, adding that STV strongly rejects attempts by certain politicians to draw it into the pre-election struggle.
According to Galbavy, STV has definitely abandoned its role as a public service that should serve the public, and has declared itself a medium that serves one party and the state power managed by it. "Therefore, we demand that Culture Minister Marek Madaric should consider a change in the financing of this medium in a way that is fair and so that its burden will be born by those whom it serves. If he can't do this, we ask him to initiate steps that would guarantee that STV will fulfil its duties defined by the law," he added.
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